Improvement in compound condensing apparatus for marine steam-engines



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V 1. Compound Condensing Apparatus for Marine. Engines.

Steam- Patented Sept 15 mud/a;

TH! GRAPHIC CO. PHQTB-HTNJQ 81ft! PARK PLACE,N.Y.

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. V 1. HOUPT. n A I compound Condensing Apparatus for MarineSteam-Engins.- 1 No.l54,951. Patented Sept.15,1'874.

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JOHN HOUPT, OF SPRINGTOWN, PENNSYLVANIA.

IMPROVEMENT IN COMPOUND CONDENSING APPARATUS FOR MARINE STEAM-ENGINES.

Specificationforming part of Letters Patent No. 154,951 dated September15, 1874; application filed July 25, 1874.

To all whom it may concern:

Be it known'that I, JOHN HOUPT, of Springtown, in the county of Bucksand State of Pennsylvania, have invented certain Improve- 1 ments inCompound Condensing .Apparatus for Marine Steam-Engines, of which thefollowing is a specification:

My present improvements relate more espe-, cially to the improvedcondensing apparatus for which Letters Patent of the United States weregranted to me bearing date November 4,

1873, and numbered 144,203; and the objects of my present invention areto provide an expander and evaporator, in combination with a compoundcondensing apparatus for marine steam-engines, whereby the largerportion of y the exhaust steam coming from the steamcyla large portionof hot water-for the boilers or stealngenerators, as will be fullydescribed with reference to the accompanying drawings.

The drawings accompanying my Letters Patent No. 144 203, before referredto herein, are somewhat chaotic or confused, in consequence of thelimited space allowed; and, therefore, in the present case, thedifferentconnecting devices are spread out in nearly the same verticalplane, and therefore more readily and distinctly seen.

Referring to these drawings, Figure 1 is a vertical section, in the samevertical plane, of the improved compound condensing apparatus No.144,203, before referred to, with my present improvement embodiedtherein. Fig. 2 is a continuation of the same compound condensingapparatus shown in Fig. 1, in the same sectional vertical plane. Fig. 3is a horizontal section of the refrigerator shown in Fig. 1. Fig. 4 is ahorizontal section of the upper plate of the dividing-valves, and Fig. 5is a plan view of the slide and opening of the said dividing-valves.

Fig. 1 represents a primary jet-condenser and a separating-valve, incombination with a powerful refrigerator, for the purpose of coolingdown the fresh water of condensation from the hot-well of the saidjet-condenser, to be used over and over again as fresh sprinklingwaterin the condenser, and for supplying the steam generator or boiler withfresh water, especially in moderately small-sized marine steamers, asdescribed in my Letters Patent before referred to; and also represents,in connection with the aforesaid invention, my present improveddividing-valves arranged between the said primary jet-condenser and thesurface-condensing apparatus in Fig. 2, with which latter apparatus thesaid dividing-valves are intended to communicate, for the purpose ofsupplying hot fresh water ofv condensation for the larger-sized marinesteamers.

Referring to Fig. 2, Q is the expander and evaporator; R, the secondarysurfacecon denser, having my present improvement in the same embodiedtherein; S, the tertiary condenser; T, theair-pump; U, the hot-waterreservoir; V, the hot-water-supply pipe leading to the boilers, (notshown;) W, the hotwell below it; and Z, the circulating-pump.

The dividing-valves G G in Fig.1 consist of a large ch am her, whichcommunicates, through -a large opening in its bottom, with thejetcondenser B below, said opening being fitted with a slide-valve, 4,operated by a crank on main shaft H; and just above said slide there isa horizontal partition, 2, through which there are six openings, eachfitted with a puppet-valve opening upward, and kept concentric in theopening by three downward-projecting stems, which slip up and down withthe plate of the valve as the latter rises from the pressure of thesteam entering from A, and closes by the action of a spring. The stem ofeach of said puppet-valves slides up and down through its respectivesteadyinghole above in the partition 3.

The exhaust steam enters G from the steamcylinder A at a point betweenthe slide-valve 4 and the partition 2, and, forcing open the sixpuppet-valves, the main portion of the puff of steam passes up throughthe six puppet-valves, and is drawn ofi by the surfacecondensingapparatus, Fig. 2, and is thereby condensed, so as to save the hot freshwater of condensation for supplying the steam-boilers.

Immediately after the first portion of the puff of steam has passedthrough the puppet valves in G, the slide-valve 4 opens and the remnantis condensed in the jet-condenser'B,

and is forced by the action of the pump 0 into through pipe g into theexpanding reservoir and evaporator Q, which is a capacious vessel,

having its upper two-thirds of length provided with a surroundingventilating-jacket, 5, which leaves an air-space between for the purposeof carrying off the immediately surrounding air heated by Q, which, inoperation, constantly radiates heat. A small pipe, g regulated by asuitable cock, admits cold sea-water, (by dripping it therefrom throughasprinkler or rose,) which affords additional vapor, while the salinematter thereof falls down and drips through a perforated diaphragm, gupon which is spread a blanket or other porous fabric that will allowthe saline solution to pass down through it and escape through thebottom opening of Q into the pipe below,,and out through cock q. Thesteam in Q passes 011' through pipe 9' into the condenser E, and fromthis latter the uncondensed portion of the vapor is drawn by theair-pump T into the tertiary condenser S, where it is reduced to water,which runs into hot-well W, and is afterward forced by the air-pump intoreservoir U above. A pipe, g which can be opened and closed at the willof the attendant, admits sea-water to wash out any saline matter thatmay in time accumulate in the bottom of Q or pipe below it, the cock qin said pipe being opened, and the cock q closed, to prevent thewashings from entering fresh-water pipe q! The steam Q is mostlycondensed in the spiral tubes in R, the water of condensationrunningdown through pipes r and 4'' into the hot well W, and the vaporbeing drawn by the suction of the air pump T through pipes r 4* into thespiral tubes in S, where it is all saved as fresh warm water, andfinally forced up into the reservoir II, from which the boilers are tobe supplied with the hot water through a pipe, V, leading thereto.

The condensers R and S are intended tobe arranged below the surface-lineof the sea, and

the cold sea-water admitted near their respect- 3 ive lower ends, and,consequently, the circulating-pump Z, connected therewith, will requirebut little power to keep up a constant flow of the cold sea-waterthrough the cases of said condensers. The regulating-valves e e of thecondensers R and S are to be adjusted so as to regulate the temperatureof R to a little below boiling water, and of S to a tem perature lowenough to save the water for use in the boilers. The spiral tubes ineach of the three condensers E It S are each made of very thinsheet-copper, or other suitable metal, and

their respective upper and'lower ends left straight, to be inserted andsoldered fast and water-tight in juxtaposition with corresponding holesin a metal casting provided with a flange around the end of same, whichreceives the end of the spiral tube, and provided also with a square orhexagonal stem, the outer end of whichlatter iscylindrical and screwcutto receive a screw-nut, whereby the casting can be drawn so as to bringthe flange thereof tightly against or upon an elastic packin g betweenit and the end plate of the surfacecondenser, thus making for eachspiral tube a water-tight joint at both ends of the same, all

of which and the utility thereof are more fully set forth in my LettersPatent No. 150,052,

dated May 19, 1874;.

I claim as my invention- 1. In combination with a compound condensingapparatus for marine steam-engines, substantially as described, theexpander and evaporator Q, constructed and arranged between and incommunication with the steam chamberG and the surface-condenser R, asdescribed, for the purpose of expanding the vapor therein,

2. The arrangement of the surface-condenser R at a position between andincommunication with the expander Q and the tertiary condenser S, incombination with the pipes r r and pump T, for the'purpose of allowing alarge portion of the fresh water therein to be drawn off at atemperature a little below boiling water, to supply the boilers orsteam-generators with hotter water than can be supplied from theordinary surface-condensers, as set forth.

JOHN HOUPT.

